The King of Saudi Arabia (centre) & Chief Commissioner Abdullah Al Fahd with the Youth Advisors to the WSC - From Left to Right: Ange Aye-Ake (Cote D'Yvoire), Abdullah Al Nuzha (Saudi Arabia), John Lawlor (Ireland), Rod Abson (Australia).
Rovers gather 'Together for Peace'
Jubail, Saudi Arabia- 1500 Rover Scouts are participating in the World's 1st Scouting Encampment for Civilization Recognition and Culture Exchange, under the slogan "Together for Peace".
The camp lasts for ten days (2-10 February, 2006) and has been organized by the International Union of Muslim Scouts, The Saudi Arabian Boy Scout Association and hosted by the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu. Scouts from 130 countries are participating in the event, which aims to help contribute to changing the world and spreading the culture of peace and tolerance with others through Scouting. At the airport Saudi Scouts welcomed their fellow-scouts from all over the world with the words "Welcome to Saudi Arabia, welcome to the Land of Peace".
The camp involves activities including inter-cultural exchange, community service, recreation, and building friendship and understanding between young people from different nations, regardless of beliefs and backgrounds.
The programme also includes sessions on developing the culture of dialogue, where Scouts are learning about conflict resolution and consensus building. These sessions are led by the Saudi Centre for National Dialogue, the institution which is leading the reform process in Saudi Arabia, where women and men from all walks of life, all tribes and faiths in the Kingdom are involved in addressing issues such as Women's Rights, Communications with other Faiths, Cultures and Countries, and Education reform.
These sessions on conflict resolution have been one of the most popular of the sessions, hosted by the centre's charismatic leader, Faisal bin Muhammer.
The Saudi Minister of Education has stayed at the camp since it started, talking with young people form his own country and from others about the importance of informal education in young people’s development.
The camp has been sponsored by the Royal Commission for Jubail, whose Chairman Prince Saud has taken a personal interest, and was opened by HRH Prince Mohammed, who urged scouts to work for peace and understanding - emphasising the work which Saudi Arabia as a country has done in recent years to build peace and understanding.
The International Union of Muslim Scouts (representing 12 million of the World Scout Movement’s 28 million Scouts) has set this process of international understanding and peace as its Gift for Peace for 2006/2007.
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